Saga Thing

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Episode 16d - Grettir's Saga (Part 4) Oct 08, 2015

Show notes

In the thrilling conclusion to Grettir’s Saga, we follow the slender armed Thorstein Dromund on his quest to avenge his brother. Thorstein’s adventures carry him from the shores of Norway to the bustling city of Constantinople, where the exiled King Harald Hardrada leads a rag tag bunch of Scandinavians called the Varangian Guard. And if you thought the Grettir’s Saga author would pass up the chance to throw in another giant of saga literature, you were sorely mistaken. Sadly, Harald is only featured in a cameo. The real story of the Grettir’s Saga epilogue is the love affair of Thorstein and Spes. Often referred to as the Spésar þáttr (The Tale of Spes “Hope”), the epilogue contrasts the epic ethos of the saga world with the more playful spirit of the continental romances. If you have ever encountered the famous story of Tristan and Isolde, where the two lovers consistently outwit Isolde’s bumbling husband, King Mark, you’ll feel right at home in the Spésar þáttr. Join us as we review this deceptively simple epilogue and discuss its potential value for understanding the rest of Grettir’s Saga.

Along the way, we make reference to a few items of interest. First among these are the blog sites featuring Drangey Island. There are some pretty impressive pictures on these blogs and stories about Drangey:

1. http://stuckiniceland.com/north/the-outlaws-paradise/

2. http://fooface.blogspot.com/2006/07/epic-climb.html

And if you want to take our advice and visit Drangey for yourself, tours are available here: http://www.drangey.net/

Interested in the Brother Robert's 13th century Saga of Tristram and Isond?

Or perhaps you'd like to start with Béroul’s The Romance of Tristan:

And finally, we make reference to one of our favorite scholarly articles on Grettir's Saga, Kathryn Hume's "The Thematic Design of Grettis Saga" from The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 73.4 (1974): 469-86. It's quite fascinating and worth a read. Free to everyone with access to JSTOR.

Episode 16c - Grettir's Saga (Part 3) Sep 22, 2015

Show notes

The Saga of Grettir the Strong continues. In this episode, Grettir arrives home in Iceland only to discover that his father has passed away, his brother has been slain by Thorbjorn Oxen-might, and that he himself has been outlawed for the accidental burning of Thorir of Gard's sons in Norway. That's a lot to take in all at once. As an outlaw, Grettir is forced to lurk in the wilds, hide in caves, and rely on the kindness of others for food. Since Grettir's not terribly kind himself, he usually just steals what he needs. Join us as we discuss the last of Grettir's adventures, including amazing feats of strength, battles with a troll-hag and a giant, and a rocky encounter with a witch. Will Grettir get stumped by the witch's black magic? Will he go out in a blaze of glory? And will he ever recover from the embarrassment of his exposed manhood? Find out in this episode of Saga Thing.

Episode 16b - Grettir's Saga (Part 2) Aug 13, 2015

Show notes

In this episode we follow Grettir through three of his most famous battles against an undead Kar the Old, a giant Norwegian bear, and Iceland's most famous draugr, Glam. We also catch Grettir stumbling in a clumsy fight for fire that will eventually seal his fate as an outlaw forever. This one runs a little longer than the average episode of Saga Thing, but with so much excellent material to cover, we just couldn't resist.

Episode 15b - The First Quarter Court Results Jul 23, 2015

Show notes

The results are in and your votes have been tallied. Listen to the Quarter Court Results show to find out how your favorite candidates did. John and Andy also take time to answer your questions about podcasting, sagas, and which character they each resemble most. We'll provide links to some of the websites and other podcasts we mention on our own webpage www.sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com
As always, thanks for listening!

Episode 16a - Grettir's Saga (Part 1) Jul 17, 2015

Show notes

In this epic multi-part episode, we tell the story of Iceland’s most famous and longest surviving outlaw, Grettir Asmundarson. Join us as we trace his life, from its tempestuous beginning to its tragic end. Before we delve into his amazing exploits as an adult, we must look back to his origins. In traditional saga fashion, we begin with his great grandfather, Onund Treefoot. We follow Onund’s efforts to resist the increasing power of King Harald Fairhair and his struggles to come to terms with the loss of his property and his leg. Forced to redefine his own identity and to make a new life in foreign lands, he emerges as the truest hero in the saga, renowned as “the bravest and most agile of all the one-legged men in Iceland.” From Onund, we wend our way through battles over whale corpses, murder, and legal cases in the genealogy until we arrive at Grettir himself. We’ll look briefly at Grettir’s inglorious youth, his troubled relationship with his father, Asmund, and the events leading up to his first outlawry. Will Grettir learn to control his temper and put his strength to good use? Or will he flout the norms of society and continue to make his own way more difficult? Find out as Saga Thing takes on Grettir’s Saga (chapters 1-20).
This handy genealogy will help you keep some of the names straight in your minds

Episode 15 - The First Quarter Court Jun 10, 2015

Show notes

Join us as we gather at the Saga Thing law rock for a Quarter Court to review the judgments for the first 10 sagas of the podcast (Hrafnkel through Bjorn Champion of the Hitardal People). After reviewing the greatest hits from each category, we turn it over to you, our loyal thingmen, to judge the winners. Cast your vote for Best Bloodshed, Nicknames, Notable Witticisms, Outlawry, and Thingmen by visiting our website sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com between June 12th and July 19th. We'll present the results at the end of July or beginning of August.
In that episode we will also make time to answer your questions about all the saga things you care to ask about and to share any comments you might have. Send comments and questions to our email sagathingpodcast@gmail.com or to our Twitter (sagathingpod) or Facebook (sagathingpodcast). We look forward to hearing from you!

Episode 14c - The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal (Judgments) May 29, 2015

Show notes

It’s time to put Vatnsdæla Saga on trial. We've got plenty of bloodshed, a decent pile of bodies to count, too many nicknames for one episode, and much much more. This saga also boasts the largest number of potential outlaws we've seen, which raises the question: Will Hrolleif's crimes continue to go unpunished? John and Andy sift through all the villains and heroes for you. But with so many excellent men to choose from, who will make the cut and join the ranks of the podcast's thingmen? And just how many large cats do you think you could take out with Aettartangi? The answers to many of these questions can only be found here in the conclusion to Saga Thing's coverage of Vatnsdæla Saga.

Episode 14b - The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal (Part 2) May 23, 2015

Show notes

Join us for the second half of the epic tale of the Vatnsdal chieftains and their family over six generations. In this episode, we clumsily attempt to trace the final three generations of this remarkable family. We’ve crammed a lot into this episode and we barely scratch the surface.

We pick up the story with the seven children of Ingimund Thorsteinsson (led by the bickering brothers Thorstein and Jokul) as they seek revenge against their father’s killer and begin a career as luck-favored witch-killers. Along the way, they encounter a particularly impressive villain named Thorolf Sledgehammer and his clowder of ornery cats. With the district safe from evil-doers, the saga shifts to the next generation.

This section begins with the sons of Thorstein Ingimundarson, Ingolf and some other guy. Ingolf Thorsteinsson is the important one. He’s the handsome Don Juan of Iceland who melts hearts and enrages menfolk across the north of Iceland. Ingolf may be a bit narcissistic, but he backs up his boasts with impressive feats of derring-do (see picture above, and note the rock strapped to his chest).

The final generation is represented by Thorkel Scratcher, who we discussed briefly in Hallfred’s Saga Troublesome-poet. Despite his humble origins as an illegitimate son abandoned to the elements as an infant, Thorkel Scratcher rises to become one of the great figures of Iceland. But great men often have jealous enemies…

This episode is filled to bursting with berserkers, half-giants, demonic pumas, missionaries, witches, outlaws, legendary swords, legendary lovers, and the occasional bloodbath. How does one man with twenty enormous black cats keep the litterbox clean? What are the three tests of a chieftain hero? Can one man singlehandedly take out eighteen bandits if he has big enough stones? Is there room for two berserkers in a single family? And can a Norwegian companion ever survive a saga battle?

Listen in and find out!

In honor of the many Norwegian companions who have fallen in the name of saga violence, we’ve created a special shirt in our Saga Thing store. Get one for your own Norwegian companion.

Episode 14a - The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal (Part 1) May 07, 2015

Show notes

The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal tells the story of one family over 5 generations (though John will insist on counting 6). We begin with Ketil the Large challenging his son, Thorstein, to find out what's lurking in the woods and killing everybody. Thorstein turns out to be a very lucky fellow who is soon married to the daughter of a famous earl in Gotland. Thorstein's son, Ingimund, is the central figure of this episode of Saga Thing. We follow Ingimund from his noble youth, through his glory days as a Viking, all the way to his eventual death in the Vatnsdalur region of northern Iceland. Will he go peacefully or will he suffer a violent death? There's only one way to find out. This episode features giants, witches, and transcendental Laplanders. We've also got epic battles, or at least references to epic battles, seduction, or at least attempts at seduction, and bloodshed...there's definitely bloodshed.

Episode 13b - Viglund's Saga (Judgments) Apr 03, 2015

Show notes

After a brief discussion of betrothal customs in medieval Iceland, John and Andy put Viglund's Saga on trial. Will Viglund's axe juggling skills win him an award? Or will he be upstaged by his own horse? Who will be outlawed? Who will earn a spot as thingman? And how does Viglund's Saga compare to the other Warrior Poet sagas we've covered? What value does it have as a saga? So much to think about, so much to learn. Stop wondering and download the Judgments episode now.

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